Suturing assembly and method



Dec. 24, 1 946. o s T 2,413142 SUTURING ASSEMBLY AND METHOD Filed June 11, 1945 ATI'ORN EY Patented Dec. 24, 1946 UNITED SUTURING ASSEMBLY AND METHOD Edwin M. Jones and Frederck W. Stein, Atchison, Kans.

Application June 11, 1945, Serial No. 598,870

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in suturing asse'mblies and methods and refers more particularly to an assembly for and method of suturing wounds wherein a surgical needle or the' like is used to pin or hold the edges of a Wound in healing relationship in place of the customary stitches or clamps.

The appliance and method may be used in treating surface wounds of varying character, for example, those incident to surgical operations, wounds accidentally sustained or those incurred in warfare. The novelty resides primarily in using a needle with adjustable stops for holding the edges of a wound in healing relationship.

The edges of wounds of a relatively severe character are conventionally held together by stitches or by clamps. In both .conventional methods the proper adjustment of the edges of the wound is diicult to obtain. Also both the stitches and clamps pass over the wound interfering with subsequent treatment. In addition When clamps are used the clamping pressure against the flesh often bruises or injures the flesh. When stitches are used proper knotting of the strands is difficult andtedious. Furthermore, the thin strands have a tendency to cut the flesh and in this respect are not entirely satisfactory.

One object of this invention is to provide an assembly and method for quickly suturing wounds.

Another object is to provide a suturing assembly and method which facilitates'the adjustmcnt of the wound edges in healing relationship.

A further object is to provide a suturing assembly and method wherein the outer surface of the sutured Wound is unobstructed.

Other and further objects of this invention will appear from the following description.

In the accompanying drawing which forms a part of the instant specification and is to be read in conjunction therewith and in which like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts in the various views,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a suturing assembly embodying the invention,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the assembly shown in Fig. 1 with the stop secured to the needle,

Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the assembly shown in Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view taken along the line 4--4 in Fig. 2 in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged View taken along the line 5--5 in Fig. 4 in the direction of the arrows showing in phantom a. hemostat in position, upon actuation to release the stop,

Fig. 6 is a diagrammat'c perspective view of a wound sutured according to this invention showing the hemostat jaws in position to secure a stop -to one of the needles,

Fig. 'I is an enlarged side elevation of e, modied suturing instrument,

Fig. 8 is an enlarged side elevation of another modification employing a curved needle, and

Fig. 9 is an enlarged side elevation showing the application of the invention to still another type of curved needle.

Referring to the drawing the suturing assembly comprises a needle o shown as a conventional surgical needle except for the spherical head lila formed at what is customarily the blunt or eyelet `end of the needle. A stop including a sleeve I l of resilient material, such as rubber, synthetie rubber or the like, -has a peripheral bead formed at one end and is mountable on the needle. It Will be noted, by reference to Fig. 4, that the axial hole in the sleeve is of somewhat greater diameter than is the diameter of the needle shank on Which the sleeve is to :be mounted. 'I'hus, the sleeve is readly moved axially of the needle into a ,selected position on the needle shank. The length of the sleeve depends on its proposed use, it being preferable in some instances to cover the point of the needle in which case the sleeve has sufiicient length to accomplish this. e i

To fix the stop in the selected position a metal ring or band l2 is provided encircling the sleeve preferably adjacent the bead. This ring maybe made of ,any suitable material capable of retaining a new shape when distorted so as to maintain the resilient material under compression as explained below. When the stop has been inserted on the needle and adjusted to its selected position the ring l2 is gripped between the clamping jaws of a conventional surgeon's hemostat !3, as shown in Fig. 6, and pressu'e is applied to compress the resilient sleeve and distort the metal ring. On removal of the hemostat the metal ring retains its distorted shape and maintains the resilient material under compression causing the portion of the resilient sleeve enci'cling the distorted band to snugly grip the needle shank anchoring the stop thereon.

If the stop is to be released to remove the needle or to correct an improper adjustment, the extremities of the distorted band are gripped between the jaws of the hemostat, as shown in Fig. 5, and sufiicient pressure is applied to restore upon the needle point with its beaded end ad-' jacent the flesh. The stop is adjusted on the needle to draw the edges of the wound into proper healing relationship and is Secured or ,anchored in its selected position by distorting the band !Z and sleeve ll with the hemostat. This compresses the web of resilient material encircled by the band nd distorts the band. The distorted band holds the encircled portion of the sleeve under compression when the hemostat is removed causing the compressed portion of the sleeve to firmly grip the needle shank anchoring the stop thereon. When required by the character of the wound a plurality of needles may be inserted in like manner spaced along the wound as shown in Fig. 6.

When the wound has healed sufficiently, the needles are readily withdrawr.` To accomplish this the hemostat is again employed to distort the` metal band !2. This time the band is distorted into substantal-ly its original shape so as to release the compression ofthe resilient material. The stop is then withdrawn from the needle and the needle is withdrawn from the flesh.

In the modification shown in Fig'. 7 the sleeve II a of the stop is Shortened and does not cover the point of the needle when in its selected operative position. t is contemplated that in some instances it will be desirable to clip off the portion of the needle extending free of the sleeve with the cutting element of the hemostat as will be fully understood by those skilled in the art. It is to be noted that in this modification a second Shortened stop is substituted at the blunt or eyelet end of a conventional surgical needle for the fixed head la.

In Figs. 8 and 9 the application of the invention to different types of surgical needles is shown. Also it is to be noted that in the embodiments of the invention shown in these figures the sleeve does not have the peripheral bead formed at one end, however, usually the sleeves with the beads are preferred as the bead provides 'an enlarged and cushioning surface for engagement With the flesh.

It will be seen that the objects of this inven- 4 tion have been accomplished. There has been provided a method and instrument for quickly suturing a' wound. The arrangement is such that no knots are required and the sutured wound has no obstructions over its outer surface. The Construction provides an inexpensive device .that facilitates treatment of wounds under both hospital and improvised conditions. The devicc is such that it is readily withdrawn 'from a wound that has substantially healed or whenever removal of the needles is desired.

.From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all of the end's and objects hereinabove set forth together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure and method. i It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be em ployed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims. i

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawng is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

l. A suturing assembly comp'isng a needle, an enlargement attached to one end of the needle, and an adjustable stop adapted to be mounted upon the shank of the needle, said stop comprising a sleeve of resilient material and a band of stiff material encircling the sleeve, said band having sufficient inherent stifiness to be capable of retaining a new shape when distorted.

2. A sutiu'ing assembly comprising a needle, an enlargement attached to one end of the needle, and an adjustable stop adapted to be mounted upon the shank of the needle, said stop comprising a sleeve of resilient material of a length to cover the point of the needle when it is mounted thereon and a band of stf material encircling the sleeve, said band having sufficient inherent stifiness to be capable of retaining a new shape when distorted.

3. A suturing assembly comprising a needle, an enlargement attached to one end of the needle. and an adjustable stop adapted to be mounted upon the shank of the needle, said stop comprising a sleeve of resilient material having a periphera] bead at one end and a band of stifi material encircling said sleeve, said band having sufficient inherent stiffness to be capable of retainng a new shape when distorted.

EDWIN M. JONES. FREDERICK W. STEIN. 

